Gulf of Aden Security Review

Yemen: AQAP executes two Saudi citizens accused of spying for the U.S.; al Houthi movement bombs parliamentary member’s home in Dhamar

Horn of Africa: IEDs target a Somali army vehicle and an AMISOM vehicle; al Shabaab calls for jihad during Ramadan; Somali forces to begin retaking al Shabaab-held areas in Jubbaland

Yemen Security Brief

• Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) executed two Saudi citizens accused of planting tracking chips in an effort to allow the U.S. to track and kill senior members of the group in al Mukalla, Hadramawt on June 17. AQAP supporters posted images of the executions on social media.[1]

• Al Houthi militants bombed the home of Yemeni MP Abdul Aziz Jabbari, who is participating in UN-led talks in Geneva, in Dhamar governorate on June 17. [2] 

Horn of Africa Security Brief

• Local reporting indicates that unidentified militants detonated improvised explosive devices (IED) targeting a Somali armed forces vehicle in Huriwa district, Mogadishu and an African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) vehicle in Toratorow, Lower Shabelle region. The attacks have not yet been claimed.[3]

• Al Shabaab released a statement announcing that the Islamic holy month of Ramadan will begin on June 18. The statement called for Muslims to perform charity and intensify jihad during the month.[4]

• Somali Prime Minister Omar Abdirashid Ali Sharmarke announced in an interview with the Somali Voice of America service that Somali forces would soon begin to retake al Shabaab held areas of the Middle and Lower Jubba regions, despite current tensions between the Interim Jubba Administration and the Somali Federal Government.[5]